Jāņi cheese vs Quark
Jāņi cheese
Facts
- Milk
- Cow
- Texture
- Soft
- Type
- Fresh
- Rind
- No rind
- Country
- Latvia
Jāņi cheese is a fresh cow's milk cheese from Latvia. Makers cook milk and curds together, then stir in butter or cream, eggs, salt, and caraway seeds. The mass sets into a low round with a soft, compact paste and seeds scattered through it. Latvians eat it at Jāņi, the midsummer festival, and the round form is tied to the sun in that tradition. It is also a familiar symbol of Latvian food beyond the festival table.
Quark
Facts
- Milk
- Cow
- Texture
- Fresh
- Type
- Fresh
- Rind
- No rind
- Country
- Germany
Quark is a fresh acid-set cheese from Germany, made from cow's milk and eaten soon after the curd is drained. The body is smooth and spoonable, closer to a thick soft cheese than to a sliced wheel. Rennet is slight or absent, so the set comes from lactic acid rather than from a long press. German cooks keep it for savory spreads and for baking. It has no rind, and it is not aged into a hard cheese.